Shoya Tomizawa’s death cast a great shadow over motorcycle racing proceedings. All Moto2 riders reacted with shock and sadness when they were told of Tomizawa’s passing after they had finished their race.

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Elias’s fourth consecutive win puts him 83 points ahead of Simon whose second-place finish him moved into second overall past Andrea Iannone (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up) who had a luckless day. The Italian was given a ride-through penalty for jumping the start which put him at the back of the pack. He had worked himself into the points when his bike stopped with three laps to go.

Luthi’s ride took him from 14th on lap one to third, a position he claimed from Simone Corsi (JIR Moto2, Motobi) with three laps to go. During the closing stages Corsi came under pressure from the next group, led by Stefan Bradl (Viessmann Kiefer Racing, Suter), the German only just ahead of Jules Cluzel (Forward Racing, Suter) and Gabor Talmacsi (Fimmco Speed Up, Speed Up).

The accident that claimed Tomizawa also involved British rider Scott Redding (Marc VDS Racing Team, Suter) and San Marino rider Alex De Angelis (JIR Moto2, Motobi). Redding was badly bruised and grazed; receiving ten stitches to a laceration in his back. De Angelis was able to walk away from the incident.

MOTO2 RIDER QUOTES

1st – Toni Elias (Gresini Racing Moto2, Moriwaki) says: “When I came in at the end of the race I could see in everyone’s eyes that something wasn’t right. Because I was out front, I never saw the accident. Tomizawa was a great guy; this is very, very sad. My condolences to his family and family. I have to say thanks to my team who worked very hard this weekend and also for their work with Moriwaki which give me this victory, so I have to say thanks to them. Thanks also to the Clinica Mobile who have given me a lot of help after my illness at Indy. But more than anything this is a very sad day for racing.”

2nd – Julian Simon (Mapfre Aspar Team, Suter) says: “Like Toni, I have to say this is a very sad day for our sport, my heart goes out to Tomizawa’s family and friends. This was a very tough race. We didn’t see the accident so we had no idea what had happened. In the race I tried to close the gap on Toni, but he was too fast, especially through T1 and T2.”

3rd – Thomas Luthi (Interwetten Moriwaki Moto2, Moriwaki) says: “I saw the sadness in people’s eyes when I came into the pits after the race. I would like to offer my thoughts and condolences to his family; we will miss Tomizawa very much. This weekend we struggled quite a bit during practice because we had a few technical problems. Last night my mechanics worked really hard and were able to fix the problems, so I have to say thank you to them.”

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